Tripura reported 90 cases of Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 through the genome sequencing of samples, informed officials. This is the first reported case of the deadly and highly infectious variant of COVID-19 in the northeast.
Of the 151 total samples that were sent for testing, as many as 90 came back positive for the Delta plus strain, medical professionals in the state confirmed.
"Few samples have also tested positive of Delta and Alpha variant," health officials said.
"Tripura had sent 151 RT-PCR samples for genome sequencing in West Bengal," said Dr Deep Debbarma, a Covid-19 nodal officer in Tripura, on Friday. "Of these, more than 90 samples were found to be Delta plus variants," he said, adding, "It is a matter of concern."
Tripura has reimposed its 24 hours weekend curfew across the state like total lockdown to start from Saturday 12 pm to Monday 6 am in order to break the chain.
At present, a curfew from 2 PM to the next morning in urban areas including in capital Agartala municipal areas are in a place where the positivity rate was the highest at around 10 percent.
The health ministry said earlier this week on Wednesday that 'variants of concern' of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were detected in as many as 174 districts across 35 states and Union territories. Among them, the highest number of cases were reported from Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal, and Gujarat.